Friday, July 24, 2009

Islanders Goalie Situation

The New York Islanders turned some heads Wednesday when they announced that they had signed goaltender Marty Biron to a one year deal worth $1.4M. A month ago this wouldn't have been surprising but since the Islanders had already made a splash in the UFA market by signing Dwayne Roloson to a two year deal, this certainly wasn't the next move that most were expecting.

There were plenty of jokes made yesterday about Biron playing LW alongside Tavares and DiPietro riding into the sunset with over a decade left on his contract. But, the more that I've thought about this, the more sense that it actually makes (We can still continue to laugh at that 15 year contract though....right??).

Some on the internet have commented about how none of these goalies will want to play in the AHL. The turth is none of these guys are going to the AHL. On top of that they all have one way contracts so are guaranteed the money that they signed. Obviously Rick DiPietro is not going to be ready to play at the beginning of the season, if at all (no matter what the Islanders continue to tell their fans). So, they signed Roloson & Biron and got themselves some stability in net.

You can say what you want, but this is certainly an upgrade over Danis & MacDonald. They have three goalies capable of being the number one for a total of about $8.4M. Obviously the Islanders would have prefered if DiPietro was bewtween the pipes and they didn't have to spend money on a third goalie, but this is the hand that they've been dealt.

If all three are healthy a three goalie tandem situation is a pain in the neck (especially for practice purposes), but right now it doesn't look like DiPietro is in their plans. As far as Biron signing the one year deal for only $1.4M after it was rumored that he was seeking $3M+, he was running out of options; it was either take this or go to Russia.

At the trade deadline if DiPietro is healthy (doubtful) or the Islanders aren't making the playoffs (not likely) then maybe another team has a need for a legit goalie. Biron will be a cheap option (money wise) and he'll be a UFA next summer. If nothing else, maybe Garth Snow has given himself an asset that will be worth something to him down the road. But for now, this deal might not be as terrible as it looked yesterday, in fact, it might be a good move by Snow.

3 comments:

Maybe crazy if they have 3 healthy goalies. But, that's assuming a lot w/ the way DiPietro has been the past few seasons. Also, considering that other teams have had two # 1s and tied up a hell of a lot more cap space (ie. Hawks) than the Islanders have tied up in 3 goalies, I don't think this is a terrible move at all.

To anonymous, you're off bc DP isn't close. Aside from that, the Isles got burned by this last year. Further, it's likely all 3 won't last. Biron is only signed 1 yr and a likely trade candidate for the deadline.

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